DI: Kyle Smith's Career Day Sends UMass By Hartford, 13-11

UMass men's lacrosse senior attack Kyle Smith produced a single-game career high six goals as the Minutemen recorded a 13-11 victory at Hartford on Saturday evening. Heading into the fourth quarter tied at 11, Smith notched the final pair of goals to send UMass away from Al-Marzook Field victorious.

Sophomore attack Grant Whiteway secured four points on three tallies and an assist while senior attack Will Manny added one goal to go with a pair of helpers. Junior attack Connor Mooney had two points on a goal and an assist while senior attack Bobby Tyler helped out on a pair of tallies.

For the second consecutive game, Smith recorded the first UMass goal of the day. Against the Hawks, Smith put the Minutemen (5-4 overall) up, 1-0 with a tally in transition, rushing into the offensive zone with possession before bouncing a shot by Hartford goalie Frank Piechota at the 12:55 mark.

The Hawks (3-4) responded with a trio of goals to move in front, 3-1 before Smith added his second of the day to cut the deficit to one. Smith received a pass from freshman midfielder Andrew Sokol six yards from the left post and sent a shot into the top-right corner with 5:31 to play in the opening quarter.

After Hartford added its fourth goal, Mooney converted an athletic play at the goalmouth to cap the high-scoring first quarter. Whiteway sent a pass over the cage to Mooney, with the junior leaping at the crease to corral the ball and redirect the play into the back of the net.

The Hawks recorded their fifth goal of play to begin scoring in the second before the UMass offense notched six of the next seven goals to move ahead, 9-6. Tyler fed Whiteway three yards from left post to pull the Minutemen within 5-4 before sophomore midfielder Brendan Schroeder tied it on an unassisted mark with 8:34 to play in the half, his first goal of the season.
Hartford broke the UMass scoring streak as Andrew Cacchio converted with 8:13 to play; however, Whiteway added his second of the day to even it at 6-6 only 1:01 later. The Billerica, Mass., native weaved through the Hartford defense to the right of the goal and bounced an attempt in front, with the ball directing high into the top-left of the goal at the 7:12 mark.

Manny pushed the Minutemen in front with an attempt at the crease, sending a diving shot past Piechota. Manny followed up his goal at the 5:50 mark by helping freshman midfielder Dan Muller make it 8-6 in favor of the visiting side with 4:01 to play in the second.

Whiteway secured his second collegiate hat trick with his third goal of the half to move UMass in front, 9-6. Moving in transition, Whiteway approached the Hartford goal before pivoting away from the Hawks defense into the center of the field, turning to face the net and firing a shot just inside the left post.

The Hawks added back-to-back goals spanning the end of the second quarter and beginning of the third to move within one of tying; however, Smith rallied the Minutemen offense with the senior's third goal of the day and 10th collegiate hat trick. With 9:37 remaining in the third, Smith rolled around the right post and placed an attempt into the back of the net from 10 feet away.

Smith added his fourth goal of the contest with 5:59 left in the third to push to lead to 11-9 on a pass from Mooney, unleashing a hard shot from eight yards away in front by Piechota; however, the Hawks recorded back-to-back goals over the remainder of the stanzas to tie it at 11-11.

After three quarters of back-and-forth scoring runs, the final potion of competition featured defensive stands by each side before Smith's single game career-high fifth goal gave the Minutemen a 12-11 lead. Manny found Smith at the crease for his second assist, with Smith converting the eventual game-winning goal while being pushed to the ground at the 3:50 mark.

The Minutemen stayed on the attack after taking the lead, resulting in Smith's sixth tally of the contest only 2:35 later. Tyler notched his second helper in leading the play to Smith, with the senior's six goals marking the most scored by a single Minuteman since Manny earned seven against Army on Feb. 10, 2012, a span of 23 contests.

Jack Bobzien led all Hawks with five points on a goal and four assists. Kevin O'Shea and Rory Nunamacher each added two goals for Hartford.

UMass led in shots, 40-35, including an 11-6 margin during the fourth quarter. The Minutemen also earned a 35-25 lead in groundballs while finishing 19-for-19 on clear attempts. Junior midfielder Joe Calvello finished 16-of-28 on faceoffs and scooped up a game-high eight groundballs. UMass committed 10 turnovers while forcing Hartford into 14 on the day. The Hawks went 13-for-16 on clearing attempts. Redshirt-freshman goalie Zach Oliveri stopped nine shots for the Minutemen while Piechota stopped 13 shots for Hartford.

The Minutemen return to Colonial Athletic Association competition with the next contest, heading to Saint Joseph's in Philadelphia, Pa., for a Saturday, March 30 contest at 1 p.m.